Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

It can be frustrating seeing cheap web design offerings. And it does make you think about changing prices, but the bottom line is the value your services brings to your client. The client must feel they are getting value for the money they pay. 

You may want to snag every web design job like other businesses want to capture every customer. People usually get what they pay for. That can create a market of clients looking to get their website fixed / upgraded.

The unfortunate result may also be that some people who experience poor website performance may abandon the web as a tool for their business.

~Roland

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Web Design | Best Beef Jerky | ecommerce articles | Follow vwebworld on Twitter

Here is how you compete in an oversaturated market:

1) Provide a superior product. Never settle for less than perfection. As Seth Godin says, if you aren`t going to be the best in the world at what you do, don`t start.
2) Find your niche. Who likes working with you, and what are you best at?
3) Don`t compete on price.
4) Stand out from the crowd.
5) Don`t do what they are doing. Go another direction.
6) Provide superior customer service. Word of mouth referrals are more powerful than swimming with the "me, too"s. Leverage existing happy clients to find new ones through testimonials and referrals.
7) Never settle. Always look ahead to what is around the corner. Meet challenges at full speed. And never rest, thinking "well, it`s pretty good right now ..." or you will wake up tomorrow to be a has-been.

Yeah what NHG said. This kind of stuff makes me mad too. But there are people out there that are hungry enough, especially ones overseas. Not to mention lots of this stuff is now prebuilt components, which makes it easier for us, however in the long run hurts us.

I would be interested to see what they end up with, is the site all that? Heck, Id even find the template off template monster and send it to them free of charge, LOL.

The only industry I cant wait for this type of stuff to hit is the realestate market, where`s the flat fee? I`m sick of paying 6% commission on a 250K house, come on! Sure you dont move much but were talking about 15,000$ in commission for a transaction, geez!

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He who gets greedy like a pig, gets slaughtered like a hog!

I can`t say much that hasn`t already been said. Some jobs just aren`t worth taking, if the customer isn`t willing to pay for the level of quality we provide. You just have to let those go.

As people experience the "quality" of these super cheap websites, they will understand why some developers charge more.


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The same is true of people who have an internet service "fill out legal forms" instead of hire a lawyer.  They will get burned and have no idea how it happened.  Sad and true.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

This is my approach... I had a customer recently inquire that he owns a very reputable record company that is affiliated with VH1, MTV, and you know the big players... but had a budget of $500.00 for a total CMS, database driven, blogg... and he needed it by "yesturday"... I didn`t want to sound rude but I laughed... His responce was "you can add me to your portfolio... My response was "well, for $8,500.00, I would be more than happy to include you. Not to mention he wanted a layout to see my abilities.. 

For all you designers and developers, do you provide your customers with a layout even if the deal might fall through? remember a layout can take up to 12 hours or more developing... what if you don`t get the job? Do you go that far to aquire customers?

NHG... I agree with you on all your points...  

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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

No, I don`t. If they are asking you for that, you`ve already headed down the wrong path a long time ago.

And $8,500 for a CMS and a blog? Do you walk his dog, wash his car, and pick up his kids from school for that much?

I don`t do any partial work on a job to secure it.  I`ll talk, email, explain, show off my portfolio and quote dollars to my heart`s content, but I won`t work on their project.  A half deposit (and often a signed contract) is what gets me to put pencil to paper.

There`s always going to be K-Mart, then JC Penney, then Nordstrom`s. Above and beyond all that, there`s Chanel, Calvin Klein, and other very-high-end places.

Again from the music business, I`ll never forget being 18, and a hotshot. I was the best keyboard player in my home town, and the best in the college town where I went for awhile. Everyone knew me, and I didn`t even think about competition.

One night I walked into a club for a musician`s jam, late night thing, where whomever was the band let anyone step in to play. There was this kid, I think 16 at the time (illegal ID), playing the organ. He proceeded to blow me out of the water.

I left, went home, and proceeded to explore the finer aspects of embarrassment. The result was to, for the first time in my life, think seriously about competition.

There`s a whole, wide, and BIG world out there! I realized that I would likely never be The Best in the world. I was competing not only against all possible keyboard players, but also in every venue. I wasn`t a trained concert pianist, nor was I Keith Emerson.

However, I also was WAY lots better than a whole boatload of other keyboard players. And that`s when I also encountered the fine saying, "Do you want to be the best of the worst, or the worst of the best?"

I chose to be among the best, even if I was only the worst of them. I gained a healthy portion of humility, came to understand that "the best" has a context, and learned that having another really good keyboard player in town kept me on my toes. :-D

Not once did I think about lowering my rates or price. My focus was on learning how to play certain things other guys couldn`t play, and use certain types of synthesizers other guys weren`t so proficient in using. Plus, I learned how to run my own band, be a lead singer, develop a show, and understand how audiences work.

Lots of super fantastic keyboard players don`t go anywhere because they don`t understand what the audience wants to hear. Likewise, most untalented keyboard players don`t go anywhere beyond the garage. But they sure are stars on their local block!

CraigL,
There is nothing wrong with competition, I love competition, the key to being successful in business is to know your competition, acknowledge your competition and reinvent yourself.

I think that if there wasn`t such a thing as competition, we would still be using the old "commodore computers" or main frames, WHY? Because when you know you don`t have any competitors, you fall in to your "COMFORT ZONE"... competition is what drives people to invent better and more sophisticated things.
As for the Music comment you made, I can totally relate to you... For those of you that don`t know me or know little bit about me... I grew up in the New York/New Jersey area, and as a teen-ager I was a DJ [still am by the way]..
I was considered a pioneer in the DJ industry, along with other well known and respected DJ`s in the Dance Music Scene What` known as.[House Music].

Well my story is similar to yous but with a twist, I used to battle other DJs for money and equipment, and one day the samething happened to me!

When I was  22 years old,  I lost in a DJ battle and yes I was humiliated in front of friends and "live on stage"... but it didn`t make me stop, I knew that somewhere along the way, I was comfortable with my style and my gigs...

so "I REINVENTED" myself, left the crowd and came back stronger...
Now as a full time business owner, I conduct myself in the same way... I accept competition, and reinvent myself...



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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net